SPOTLIGHT ON EDUCATION OF CHILDREN IN CARE WITH LAUNCH OF SOCIAL EXCLUSION UNIT CONSULTATION

The Social Exclusion Unit today announced a major consultation to find ways of raising the educational achievement ...

The Social Exclusion Unit today announced a major consultation to find ways of raising the educational achievement of children in care.More than two-thirds of children in care leave care at 16 with noqualifications at all compared to only six percent of all children;less than one in 20 obtained five good GCSE passes compared withnearly half of all children.Visiting St Augustine's CE school in Kilburn, north London, today,health minister Jacqui Smith said:'We know that doing badly at school has a major impact on thesechildren's chances later in life and we must do more to see that theyget the same educational opportunities that we would expect for ourown children.'That's why I'm delighted that the Social Exclusion Unit will beconsulting widely on the issue so that we can get to the bottom ofthe problem and come up with recommendations that will make a realdifference.'We are determined that children in care should have the same lifechance opportunities as other children. This is a central theme ofthe government's Quality Protects Programme.'Baroness Ashton, minister for early years and school standards,commented:'The government is very committed to raising education standards forchildren in public care. I welcome the Social Exclusion Unit studywhich will help to build on the initiatives already in place toensure that young people and children in public care are able tofulfil their potential.'The government introduced Quality Protects to overhaul children'sservices as a whole as well as issuing specific guidance on theeducation of young people and children in public care. The SEU'sproject will build on these existing policies. Key features of theguidance include:* Personal education plans for all young people in care* Designated teachers to be a resource and advocate for childrenin public care in school* Information sharing between schools, local education authoritiesand social servicesCare leavers are significantly more likely to be socially excluded inlater life. For example:* Children in care are ten times more likely to be excluded fromschool* A quarter of all prisoners have been in care* Up to a third of rough sleepers have been in care* Children in care are two-and-a-half times more likely to becometeenage parentsThe Social Exclusion Unit's consultation takes in social servicesdepartments, education authorities, schools, carers, young people incare, care leavers, children's charities, business and anyone elsewith an interest in the topic.As well as the formal consultation, the Social Exclusion Unit projectteam is carrying out six in-depth studies of particular localauthority areas alongside a series of visits to projects to helpidentify best practice.Barbara Roche, minister of state at the cabinet office, said:'The government is committed to creating opportunities for our mostvulnerable young people to thrive in childhood and succeed in adultlife. The Social Exclusion Unit's project has a key role to play inhelping us to achieve this ambition.'By carrying out such in-depth research and consultation, the SEU'spolicy recommendations are based on solid evidence and involve peoplewith direct experience of the issues in the project.'The consultation document can be downloaded from the Social ExclusionUnit websiteor contact JamilMohammed on 020 7276 2118 for a copy. The closing date for theconsultation is 26 October.The final report will be published in 2002.NOTES1. The Social Exclusion Unit is part of the office of the deputyprime minister in the Cabinet Office. In addition to the projecton children in care and education, the unit's current workprogramme is focusing on three further topics - young runaways,transport and social exclusion and reducing re-offending amongex-prisoners.2. The Social Exclusion Unit's past reports are: Rough Sleeping,Teenage Pregnancy, Bridging the Gap: 16-18 Year Olds not inEducation, Training or Employment and Truancy and SchoolExclusions. The SEU published A New Commitment to NeighbourhoodRenewal: National Strategy for Neighbourhood Renewal in January2001. This set out new policies on improving life in England'smost deprived neighbourhoods.3. The SEU's most recent publication is called Preventing SocialExclusion. This sets out the Government's approach to tacklingsocial exclusion and outlines delivery of results on the ground.All SEU reports can be downloaded from the website:www.cabinet-office.gov.uk/seu.4. Launched in September 1998, Quality Protects is theGovernment's five year programme designed to transform themanagement and delivery of children's social services.5. As part of the Quality Protects programme, joint Department ofHealth and Department for Education and Skills guidance on theeducation of young people in public care was launched in May 2000.Key features include personal education plans, designatedteachers, improving co-ordination between services and introducingtighter timetables for placing children in care in schools. A teamof Education Protects Implementation Advisers have been appointedby DfES and DoH to support local authorities in implementing theguidance.

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